1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a garbage-collecting truck comprising a dumping unit, which includes a pour-in opening in the front portion of the truck and a lifting and tipping mechanisms for receiving a garbage can and for emptying the garbage can into the pour-in opening leading into a receiving chamber, wherein the lifting and tipping mechanisms comprises at least one lifting arm, which is pivoted on a transverse axis to the dumping unit or to the chassis of the truck and at its free end carries a base beam, which is parallel to the transverse axis and is pivotally movable between a receiving position in front of the driver's cab and a pouring position behind the driver's cab, a carrier, which is mounted on the base beam to be extensible from at least one end of the base beam by means of a fluid-operable piston-cylinder unit, a swivel arm, which is mounted on the carrier and which arm, by means of links and a fluid-operable piston-cylinder unit, is pivotally movable between a position in which it extends along the carrier, and an outer position, in which it extends approximately at right angles to the carrier, and a coupling member, which is carried by the swivel arm at its free end and is adapted to be coupled to and/or grip a garbage can. 2. Description of the Prior Art
In a garbage-collecting truck of the kind which is known from European Patent Publication No. 163,859 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,767 of Dec. 27, 1987) the swivel arm, an auxiliary link, which is pivoted to the carrier at a distance from the swivel arm, and a coupling link, which constitutes the coupling member and is pivoted to the free ends of the swivel arm and the auxiliary link, constitute a four-bar linkage, which is adapted to be swung in and out by a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit, which is pivoted at one end to the carrier and at the other end to the pivoted arm. By means of an additional fluid-operable piston cylinder unit the carrier can be displaced along to the base beam, on which the carrier is slidably mounted. Owing to the provision of the four-bar linkage for pivotally moving the coupling member relative to the carrier, and of the two fluid-operable piston cylinder units, which respectively serve to pivotally move the coupling member and to displace the carrier, the kinematic arrangement and the structure of the known means for displacing and pivotally moving the coupling member is relatively complicated and expensive.